Alpha Male
by Metalchick36
Summary: When it comes to bending the rules & taking charge, Elliot goes too far this time & gets replaced by Detective Mick Thomson, who has a high conviction rate & a temper that he has control of. Elliot is stuck with a desk job & hates it, and he hates Mick.
1. Liability

_Disclaimer: The characters of Law & Order SVU do not belong to me, they belong to Dick Wolf. Mick Thomson does not belong to me either (but I wish he did!) instead, he is one of the guitarists in Slipknot, and this story is in no way affiliated with him and the use of him is just pure fantasy. Maggots, I apologize if I got his personality wrong, but I wrote him the best I could to how I think he would be like if he were a cop instead of a guitarist in Slipknot, after all...this story is AU._

_A/N: To those who are my loyal readers, I know I don't need to get so descriptive of each character, but I'm also writing this story for any Slipknot fans who got directed to this story, and some may have never seen this show. _

_This fan fiction was inspired by a drawing in Deviantart. **UPDATE:** I tried to type the address to the picture here, but it's not coming up, so go over to my profile page for the link to it. _

_Summary: Detective Elliot Stabler is one of SVU's best detectives, he has a high conviction rate, was very hard working, and very dedicated to the job. Unfortunately he does tend to get overzealous and has complaints of police brutality, not to mention has a mean short temper. He has gotten in trouble for those things, but mostly got a slap on the wrists...until the day his luck finally ran out. When he goes too far, the NYPD have had enough and decide to replace him with Detective Mick Thomson, who also has a high conviction rate, but but only gets rough with the suspects when it's necessary. Elliot does not like Mick and immediately sees him as a threat, especially since Elliot was always the alpha male in SVU._

**Alpha Male**

**Chapter 1: Liability**

Special Victims Unit is a division of the police department that handles cases that involve sex crimes such as rapes and sexual abuse, and anything involving children whether it be kidnapping or abuse. This unit is located in Manhattan and is run by Captain Don Cragen, a short and bald middle aged man who originally ran the Homicide Unit in the 27th Precinct until he transferred to the Anti-corruption task force for a few years until the death of his wife brought him to SVU as a way to get over it.

Some of the detectives who work for this unit are Odafin Tutuola, whom everyone calls Fin, is a black man in his 50's, but looks younger than that. He is hardened from the years spent in the Narcotics Unit, but has a soft spot for children and for junkies who are in dire need of help. He is a straight forward kind of guy and is not afraid to speak his mind. He has a son from a previous marriage, who was estranged to him due to his long absence and for not being so accepting of his son's sexual orientation.

Fin's partner is Sergeant Detective John Munch, who is Jewish and in his 60's, has short salt & pepper hair that is almost white, and is very skinny and almost always wears black and always wears sunglasses. He worked for the Homicide Unit in Baltimore Maryland, until he retired and divorced his fourth wife, who he gave up his ownership to the bar that he and two of his colleagues owned. He joined SVU due to being the only opening available. He is a huge conspiracy theorist, specializing in the assassination of JFK and UFOs, he is often cynical, sarcastic, and has a dark sense of humor.

But Fin & Munch are often overshadowed by Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, who very often are the primary detectives in the cases and get the most gold stars from their captain.

Olivia is the product of her mother's rape, which had caused her mother to become alcoholic and neglect her. From an early age, Olivia often had to fend for herself and take care of her mother when she had too much to drink. This is what drove Olivia to join SVU, to help other women just like her mother and herself. Olivia has had numerous short-lived relationships, including a one-night-stand with Detective Brian Cassidy, who had later transferred to Narcotics due to not being able to handle SVU. She is strongly dedicated to her job and has been partners with Elliot for eleven years, the longest out of almost all the partnered detectives.

Elliot Stabler is the only married detective in the unit. He married his high school sweetheart Kathy due to getting her pregnant with their eldest daughter Maureen. He joined the Marines to make a better life for his family, then went on to the police academy and joined the NYPD. They had three more children, their second oldest daughter Kathleen, who was a wild child in her teens until it all caught up with her and was diagnosed as being bi-polar. Then came fraternal twins Richard and Elizabeth. Elliot's job often took a toll on their marriage, especially due to him having a female partner, whom Kathy accused her husband of wanting to spend more time with. Elliot and Kathy almost divorced until she became pregnant with their fifth child Elliot Stabler Jr., which brought them back together. Elliot joined SVU to protect his family from the evils of the world, but that often caused him to see his children in every child victim he came across on the job. He also has a very short temper, which often got him in trouble.

Then there are those who aren't detectives, but work with them on their cases. One of those people is their medical examiner Melinda Warner, a black woman who's 50, but looks younger, is married and has a daughter in her preteens. Then there's their forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, who works for the FBI, but lends his expertise by profiling their suspects and victims. He also does evaluations and offers counseling to the detectives when the job becomes too much to bear.

_**Special Victims Unit, The 16**__**th**__** Precinct, Manhattan...**_

"Stabler, Benson! We just got a 911 call about a man exposing himself and masturbating in front of the children at a playground." Said Captain Don Cragen.

"Is he still there?" asked Detective Olivia Benson.

"No, he was chased off by the parents there, and unfortunately we have three different descriptions of him." Cragen answered.

"Great! Just what we needed, civilians taking things into their own hands!" Detective Elliot Stabler complained.

"Hey, you'd do the same thing if you were at the park with Eli." stated Detective Fin Tutuola.

"Yeah, but that's different. I'm a cop, and they're not." Elliot responded.

"Guys! You can finish this debate later, right now you need to get down there and find this guy before he strikes again." Cragen ordered.

"We're on it!" Elliot responded as he and Olivia, his partner of eleven years headed out.

"What about us? What do you want us to do?" Fin asked.

"Just stand by in case any tips come in." Cragen answered.

"(Sigh!) Yes Captain." Fin responded with disappointment over him and his partner Sergeant John Munch getting stuck with phone duty.

"Well, back to ass duty then." Munch said in a mocking enthusiastic manner.

Meanwhile while Elliot and Olivia canvassed the neighborhood near the park, a man in his thirties is spotted holding the hand of a five year old girl in a frilly pink dress. Elliot springs into action.

"Get away from her you perv!" Elliot yelled as he charged at the man, who froze for a second then tried to run away.

Elliot tackled the man down and started punching him as he struggled to get free from Elliot pinning him down.

"You disgusting pervert! I hope that you get raped in prison for what you did to those kids!" Elliot yelled.

"Did what? Did I do something wrong?" the man asked.

"Yeah! You flashed your junk in front of all those kids, that's what!" Elliot yelled.

"What? No! I only take pictures of beauty pageant girls! I'm not a child pornographer!" the man exclaimed.

"Elliot!" Olivia yelled, but was ignored.

"That's what they all say!" Elliot stated.

"I'm serious! Check my business card in my pocket!" the man pleaded as Elliot continued to pound his fist into his face.

"Elliot!" Olivia yelled again.

"What! I got him OK? Hold him down while I cuff him!" Elliot exclaimed.

"I would if that were the right guy!" Olivia yelled.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Elliot asked.

"A unit from the 2-7 collared the guy a block away!" Olivia answered angrily.

"They did? Then who is this guy?" Elliot asked as he looked at the man who was now crying as he recovers from the punching.

"I'm just a photographer! I didn't do anything wrong!" the man cried.

"Oh shit!" Elliot said at the realization of how much trouble he would be in again.

As soon as they returned to the squad room, Cragen stormed up to him as if a trail of fire blazed behind him.

"Stabler! My office, now!" Cragen yelled even angrier than ever.

"Yes Captain." Elliot answered knowing what was coming next.

After getting chewed out by the Captain once again, Elliot was suspended for a week. But things were about to change, not just for Elliot, but for the whole NYPD department.

_**NYPD Headquarters, One Police Plaza...**_

A few days later, Captain Cragen had been summoned by Muldrew, the Chief of Detectives.

Cragen took a deep breath as he entered the Chief of D's office. He knew this meeting had to be about Elliot Stabler.

"Captain Cragen." Muldrew greeted.

"Hello Chief." Cragen greeted as he prepared to get an earful about Elliot.

"Shut the door and have a seat please." Muldrew ordered.

Cragen closed the door and sat down in the chair in front of the Chief's desk.

"You know what this conversation is gonna be about don't you?" Muldrew asked.

"It's about Detective Stabler isn't it?" Cragen asked.

The chief nodded yes.

"Chief, I have suspended him for a week and..." Cragen started explaining until the chief put up his hand to stop him.

"And then he's gonna come back to work again as usual until he crosses the line again. It is obvious of how much of a problem this is becoming, and I for one am not gonna take this anymore!" Muldrew stated.

"What are you suggesting?" Cragen asked, looking the Chief right in the eye.

Getting straight to the point, the Chief answered, "Elliot Stabler has become too much of a liability for the NYPD, especially since that photographer is threatening a lawsuit against us unless we do something about Detective Stabler. I know you won't like what I'm about to do, but I am taking Elliot off the streets."

"What? But Chief! He's one of my best detectives!" Cragen said defensively.

"I know he is, and I am well aware of his high conviction rate. But the complaints of excessive force and temper flare-ups, and now this lawsuit are beginning to outweigh the benefits." Muldrew explained.

Cragen sighed in defeat.

"I'm sorry Captain, but this is just how it has to be." Muldrew said.

"So basically you're firing him?" Cragen asked.

"No. He can still work for you, but he'll have to be restricted to desk duty, even if he transfers to another unit. If he doesn't like that, then he can quit." Muldrew answered.

"That's not much of a choice." Cragen said.

"Well it's better than having none!" Muldrew responded.

"Fine. I suppose I'm gonna have to take in a rookie detective as his replacement?" Cragen asked.

"Not at all! I understand how difficult it is to work in SVU and giving you guys a rookie would be a mistake. Not to mention not having the time or money to train them until you find one that can handle the job. I've already found you a replacement, and I assure you that he is an excellent detective." Muldrew explained.

"OK, so who is he?" Cragen asked.

The Chief hands Cragen the file, which he grabs, then as he opens it and looks it over, Muldrew explains, "Detective Michael Gordon Thomson; started out as a CO at the Iowa State Penitentary in Fort Madison for two years, then he was a patrol officer for the Des Moines Police Department for five years. After that he joined the Narcotics Unit and also has a very high conviction rate and only uses force when absolutely necessary."

Cragen looks over Mick's profile, which listed him being 6 foot 5 inches tall, and having black hair and blue eyes. The profile picture in the front of the file was obviously from his academy days since he was in uniform and had short hair. The most recent picture probably from his undercover days has him with much longer hair, a goatee, and tattoos on his arms.

"He's from Iowa, so what brought him here to New York?" Cragen asked.

"He did an undercover assignment where he infiltrated the Bandido's Motorcycle gang, which he successfully completed." Muldrew said.

"Is he in witness protection?" Cragen asked.

"No, he chose to relocate here. He's been working with the narcotics unit in Brooklyn, and he has been doing an excellent job. But I asked him if he'd like to transfer to your department and he agreed." Muldrew answered.

"He does indeed look like a strong detective, but you know that it takes more than physical strength to be in SVU." Cragen stated.

"Yes, I am aware of that, but I have had him evaluated and he seems to meet the psychological requirements for the job." Muldrew said.

"Alright, I'll give him a chance. When do you want him to start?" Cragen asked.

"He can start tomorrow, that should give you enough time to prepare your squad and break the news to Detective Stabler." Muldrew answered.

Cragen sighed and said unenthusiastically, "Great!"

Captain Cragen thought about how he was gonna break the news to everyone as he walked out of the Chief's office, but even worse was how he is gonna tell Elliot that he is stuck with desk duty.

"Why me?" Cragen moaned to himself as he went down the elevator in One Police Plaza.

_**Back at the 16**__**th**__** Precinct...**_

"What? Why are you doing this?" Asked Olivia, who did not take the news very well.

"I'm sorry Olivia, but this wasn't my decision." Cragen said.

"Let me guess, it's because the Chief of D's chewed you out isn't it?" Olivia angrily asked.

"Look I don't like it either, but perhaps the chief is right. Elliot has gone too far this time, and now he's gonna have to pay for his mistake." Cragen stated.

"And we're paying for it too by losing him!" Olivia snapped.

"We're not losing him, he's still gonna be here." Cragen said.

"I don't think so! He hates ass duty!" Olivia stated.

"But he'll never quit this place, he loves his job." Cragen said.

"He loves catching the perps, and he can't do it sitting behind a desk." Olivia said.

"Ah-em!" Munch sounded as he clears his throat to get her attention toward those who work the desk jobs.

"I'm sorry, no offense to you guys. But Elliot is not gonna like this, and neither do I!" Olivia said.

Then she walks toward the door leading to the rooftop of their building.

"She'll be fine, but this isn't easy for her you know." said Detective Fin Tutuola.

"I know it's not. But there are worst ways of losing a partner, at least Elliot will still be allowed to work here." Cragen said.

Fin snorted in disapproval. Secretly he was happy when he heard that Elliot would be taken off the street, but he wasn't happy that he's still gonna be working there.

"Gee Fin, I thought you'd be happy about this." Munch said after the Captain walked away.

"I was until I heard that he's still gonna be here, and now we're gonna have to deal with him even more since he's doing ass duty." Fin stated.

"Well look on the bright side, at least it's not us being replaced." Munch said optimistically.

"Yeah, but who knows how the new guy is gonna be? He'll either be a rookie who thinks he can handle this place or a veteran who thinks he knows he can handle this place." Fin said.

"Either way, we lose, especially if we still get stuck with dumpster diving." Munch said.

Cragen comes back over and says, "John, could you do me a favor please?"

"Sure, what would you like me to do?" Munch asked.

"Call Elliot and tell him the bad news." Cragen ordered.

"What? Why do I have to do it? Why not you or Olivia?" Munch asked in shock.

Cragen sighed, then answered, "Because I can only take so much from Elliot, and this isn't something I can take right now. Olivia is too close to him as a partner to be able to tell him without getting emotional."

"Fine, but you owe me one!" Munch declared.

_**The next day...**_

"So how did it go?" Fin asked Munch about what he had to tell Elliot.

"Not good! He threatened to come over here today, but I had to remind him that he's still suspended and that he'll lose his job if he sets one foot in here." Munch answered.

"You think he'll try?" Fin asked.

"It seemed like it, until I asked him if it would be worth it just to yell at the new guy." Munch answered.

Fin chuckled and said, "Well too bad, I would have loved to have seen that."

"OK I get it, you don't like Elliot!" Munch stated.

"Turn around, you'll see what I mean." Fin said as he looks over behind Munch.

Munch turns around and now sees what Fin was looking at.

Mick Thomson had just entered the precinct and everyone around were in awe over his height and his stature. The weaker guys looked intimidated and quickly got out of the way, and the women stared with their jaws dropped. Even Olivia, who usually ignores guys like him did a double take.

Cragen quickly approached him and said, "Detective Michael Thomson?"

"That's me. But I go by Mick, You must be Captain Cragen." Mick said as he put out his hand, which Cragen shook.

"OK Mick, welcome to Special Victims Unit." Cragen said.

"Thank you. I understand I'm coming in under not so good circumstances." Mick said, feeling like he's out of place.

"Yeah. But these things do happen...Well I hope you can handle this job here. You know that SVU is usually a two year tour?" Cragen asked.

"Yes I do. I may not have dealt with sex crimes very much, but I have handled cases that involved children while in narcotics, some of them who chose to deal, and some who were forced into it. I think I can handle it." Mick explained.

"Good! Anyways, this is your partner Olivia Benson." Cragen introduced.

"Hello, I'm Mick Thomson." he introduced himself while putting his hand out.

"Hi." Olivia greeted coldly.

Mick knew he was brought in to replace her partner, whom just had his job taken away from him as well as her. He had heard how close knit they had been, but he wasn't sure how close they really were. He really did not want to know, whatever they do is their business.

"Listen, you don't have to like me, I'm not here to make friends. I only hope we can at least be civil enough to work together, deal?" Mick asked as he put out his hand.

Olivia was surprised at this, especially since she was expecting his attitude to either be "oh great! She's one of those "I hate all men!" types" or the "Watch me! I'll win her heart over", but he wasn't.

"Alright. That sounds fair enough to me." Olivia said as she shook his hand.

After shaking her hand, Mick could overhear the whispers from across the room. Without looking over, he could hear Fin & Munch's conversation.

"Well that's a first!" Fin said.

"What's that, Olivia giving a new partner a chance?" Munch asked.

"No...well that too. I meant the fact that he didn't try to hit on her." Fin answered.

Mick looked over and noticed Fin was sizing him up, trying to figure out who he was. Mick was used to it, he did the same thing as well. He looked over Fin and could tell he was a man who held his own, doesn't need anyone to order him around. Then he looked over at his partner, who looked so skinny he could probably snap him in half like a twig. He could also tell that he was probably the comic relief of this place, every precinct had one. He was probably also very knowledgeable of many things, even the useless trivial facts. But knowing how looks can sometimes be deceiving, Mick walked over to them to introduce himself.

"Well I certainly wouldn't want to get on his bad side!" Munch said to Fin.

"Might be too late for that now." Fin said as he sees Mick approaching.

Munch turns around with a "oh shit! He's behind me, isn't he?" look on his face.

"Oh hi! I uh..." Munch said nervously.

"It's OK, I'm used to this kind of reaction from people. Mick Thomson." he introduced.

"John Munch! Sergeant John Munch, but you can just call me Munch. Nice to meet you!" he greeted back.

"So you are a nice guy after all." Fin boldly stated.

"As long as your respectful to me, I'll be respectful to you. I know I may look like one, but I'm not an asshole." Mick said.

"You just become one when someone's an asshole to you. I'm Odafin Tutuola, but everyone calls me Fin." he said as he puts out his hand.

"I could tell you're the same way as well." Mick said as he shakes his hand.

"Well you've certainly won us over, welcome!" Fin said.

"But good luck winning over Elliot." Munch said.

"Why's that? Is he the one I'm replacing?" Mick asked.

Fin answered, "Yeah, but even if you weren't replacing him, Elliot is still an asshole! Thinks he's The big man around here!"

"Oh let me guess, he's one of those guys who likes to be the alpha male, right?" Mick said.

"Yep! You pretty much nailed it!" Fin answered.

"Well I'm not interested in taking over his territory, I'm just here to try out something different in police work." Mick explained.

"What did you do before?" Fin asked.

"I was in the Narcotics Unit, first in Iowa, then in Brooklyn." Mick answered.

"Really? I was in Narcotics too before I came to this place ten years ago." Fin said.

"You were in Iowa?" Munch asked.

"Yes I was, grew up there. And yes, they do have crime there too!" Mick said.

"Oh I know that! But I understand the misconception most people have about places like that." Munch said.

"So why'd you come here to New York?" Fin asked.

"My last gig was a sting operation in the Des Moines chapter of the Bandido's motorcycle gang, which was successful." Mick answered.

"Whoa! You infiltrated them?" Fin said in shock.

"Yeah. It's not too hard if you know how to blend in. Had a sweet bike too! Unfortunately I had to give it up when the gig was over." Mick said.

"I know that feeling! You must've came here by choice since you're telling us all this, unless you're breaking witsec's rules." Fin said.

"No you're right the first time. I'm not in witness protection, not that I need it anyways, but I still didn't want to take any chances." Mick explained.

"I understand that." Fin said.

Olivia comes by, hands him a case file, and says, "Sorry to interrupt, but we have an open case that needs closing before it gets cold. Here! This will get you caught up."

With the flasher caught and awaiting arraignment, the detectives go back to the rape/homicide case that was put on the back burner when the trail went cold.

"Thanks, I'll look it over." Mick said, but Olivia walks away.

"Don't worry, she'll warm up to you, eventually." Fin said.

While glancing at the file, Mick says, "I'm sure she will once I help you guys close this case. Is this all you guys got?"

"Yeah. Because the victims had a cloth sack placed over their heads, none of them are able to identify their rapist." Fin answered.

"Never talked either, just made a few grunts and huffing sounds." Munch added.

"No fluids or condoms left behind either?" Mick asked.

"None! This guy has been very careful not to leave any trace evidence behind." Fin said.

"You guys just haven't found his mistakes yet." Mick said.

"I doubt he's made any, all our crime scenes have been very clean, and our victims scrubbed down." Fin said.

"No one's always that careful. I've collared criminals like him before, they always make one little mistake that they overlook. We just have to find it before he strikes again. Could I have a look at the evidence and the crime scene photos?" Mick asked.

Olivia tosses the pile of crime scene photos on Mick's desk and answers, "Knock yourself out."

"Thank you!" Mick responded as Olivia walks away again.

Mick just ignored Olivia's icy attitude and went straight to work by laying out the crime scene photos on his desk and going over the notes made by Elliot when they first worked on the case, which had been one month ago.

_A/N: I hope you SVU fans and maggots like this story so far. I'm thinking of adding the other band members to it later._


	2. Threat

_A/N So sorry for taking so long in updating! Hope you SVU fans and maggots like this!_

**Chapter 2: Threat**

_**16**__**th**__** Precinct...**_

Mick had looked over the photos of the rape victims and their descriptions of the rapist. The only thing that matched up was the fact that the rapist had his face covered, but each description of the covering was slightly different. One victim thought it was a ski mask, but two of them described it as being rubbery. But then another description described the rapists hair sticking out of the mask on one side, which reminded Mick of something he had seen before.

"Hey, I think I finally found something." Mick said to Olivia, who was sitting across from him.

"Yeah? Well what is it?" Olivia asked.

"It's his mask, something about it sounds familiar." Mick answered.

"How do you know it's really a mask he was wearing? Some of the victims thought it was a beanie pulled over his face." Olivia stated.

"It would look like that if you were in the same position as those victims. Back in Des Moines, we had a guy that wore a gimp mask while attacking women at night." Mick said.

"You think it's the same guy?" Olivia asked.

"I'm not sure, but I know the detective that had that case, let me give him a call." Mick said.

After a few rings, Mick hears the answer, "This is Detective James Root, homicide unit."

James Root was his partner until Mick went undercover. Compared to Mick, he is one inch taller than him, which makes Jim six foot six inches. He has shoulder length brown hair and green eyes.

"Hello Jim!" Mick greeted.

There was a pause for a second, until Jim responded, "Mick? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me!" Mick answered.

"Oh my God! It's so good to know you're still alive! Where the hell are you?" Jim asked.

"I'm in New York City." Mick said.

"New York City?" Jim chuckled and added, "Of all the places, I never thought you'd be there!"

"Which is exactly why I relocated here! Look, I didn't call for a reunion, I'd called because I have a stack of unsolved rape cases that involves a masked rapist." Mick said.

"Rape cases? A masked rapist? Wait...you mean to tell me that you may have found the gimp masked rapist?" Jim asked in sudden interest.

"Yes. By your reaction, I'm guessing you still haven't caught him yet?" Mick asked.

"Yeah, but we were so close to catching him once when we got a tip of his location, but he must've got wind of that cause he fled before we could nab him. At least we can finally catch him!" Jim exclaimed.

"Well don't get too hopeful, it may be not be him, but it would be a big help to have all the information on that case." Mick said.

"Of course, I'll fax you the case file, but you do owe me for this, especially since you took off on us without letting us know where you went!" Jim stated.

"Hey, you know how I like to get away once in a while." Mick said.

"I know that...but still you could've at least let us know you're still alive!" Jim said.

"Sorry, I didn't think of that. So how are the others? I hope they all didn't think I was dead." Mick said.

Olivia looked up in curiosity of what he was talking about, but then went back to her own business knowing he wouldn't tell her the back story of this conversation if she asked. Her phone ringing diverts her attention away.

"They're fine, everyone's doing their own thing. But you should call them up yourself and find out, they all still have the same phone numbers." Jim said.

"I will. " Mick said.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but we've got another victim." Olivia said over his shoulder.

"Who's that?" Jim asked as he overheard her.

"That's my new partner." Mick answered.

"Hmm...is she as hot as she sounds?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, but seriously I'm gonna have to go now." Mick said.

"OK, but I still need to know where to send this information." Jim said.

So Mick gives Jim the fax number then hangs up.

_**Meanwhile in Des Moines...**_

"Who were you talking to?" asked Lieutenant Corey Taylor.

Corey Taylor was their boss who supervises their unit. He got the job when the mayor wanted to raise the conviction rate of their unit, but to do that, the department had to get rid of their former Lieutenant Andy Rouw AKA Anders because he was too rogue and they wanted someone who was clean but still tough on crime. Corey fit that description and Anders quit due to not liking being second in command.

"That was Mick." Jim answered.

"What? You're kidding!" Taylor exclaimed.

"I'm not." Jim said.

"Where is he?" Corey asked.

"In New York City." Jim answered.

"New York City? Huh, I never thought he'd go there!" Corey said.

"Exactly why he went there." Jim said.

"Well you know how he is, after a big case, he likes to hole up." Corey said.

"Yeah. Anyways, I need the case file on the gimp masked rapist. Mick thinks he may have found him." Jim said.

"Really? Well I hope he's right! It's too bad we couldn't get the warrant quick enoughl! ADA Fehn would have got it faster than ADA Welts did." Corey said.

"Yeah, he would've if he stayed here in Des Moines." Jim said.

"Hey, you can't blame him for leaving for greener pastures. Anyways, I'll get that file for Mick, a body was found at the park, and M.E. Jordison is waiting for you at the crime scene." Corey ordered.

"Alright, here's the fax number Mick gave me." Jim said, and then was about to take off.

"Thanks. Oh, and take Officer Wilson with you, he still needs to be broken in." Corey said.

"Great!" Jim said unenthusiastically about their newest recruited rookie patrol officer Sid Wilson, who is fresh out of the police academy.

_**Back in New York City at the Medical Examiner's Office...**_

Their latest victim wasn't as lucky as the others since she was killed. Olivia and Mick entered the morgue where M.E. Melinda Warner was waiting for them.

Mick took notice of Melinda right away, not because he was attracted to her, not that he thought she wasn't, but because compared to the ME's he worked with back in Des Moines, she looked normal. She was mocha colored, had dark curly sand brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any fluids or any traces of skin or blood because the body was..." Melinda said til she noticed Mick right away.

"Melinda, this is Detective Thomson. Thomson, this is Dr. Warner." Olivia introduced.

"Hi! " Melinda greeted as she was awed at his height, his body build, and his good looks.

"Hello, you can call me Mick." he said as he puts out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Mick, you can call me Melinda!" she said as she shakes his hand.

"Nice to meet a normal looking M.E. for a change." Mick said.

"Normal looking?" Melinda asked.

"What I mean is...the ones I've worked with in Iowa are gothic." Mick answered.

"Are you talking about Dr. Jordison?" Melinda asked.

"Yeah! You know him?" Mick asked.

"I met him at a seminar we attended, really stood out." Melinda said.

"Yeah, that's Joey alright." Mick said.

"Ahem! You were saying?" Olivia interrupted.

"Right. Unfortunately the body was scrubbed down, but I did find something, but I'm not sure how much help it's going to be." Warner said.

"What is it?" Olivia asked.

Melinda holds up a bag and says, "I found a fragment of rubber in her hair, but I can't tell where it's from."

"Could I see that?" Mick asked.

"Sure." Melinda answers as she hands him the bag.

Mick examines the rubber piece and says, "I think this is a piece to his mask."

"His?" Melinda asked.

"He thinks he knows who our suspect is." Olivia said doubtfully.

Mick responded, " I said I think I know who it may be! I didn't say I know who it is, there's a difference between thinking and knowing."

"Sorry!" Olivia said while glaring at Mick.

At this moment Mick's cell phone rings.

"Excuse me for a second." Mick said politely toward Melinda.

When he was out of earshot, Melinda asked Olivia, "So I take that you don't like him?"

"What? No! I don't hate him. It's just that..." Olivia said.

"He's not like Elliot?" Melinda asked.

"No, actually...it's the opposite, he's almost so much like him that it's as if he could...take his place easily. It would be easier to hate him if he were completely different or if he wasn't such a good detective." Olivia explained.

"So...does this mean you do like him?" Melinda asked.

"Are you talking about as a work partner, or do you mean something else?" Olivia asked.

"As a work partner of course, why else would you think I was talking about something else, unless...are you interested in him?" Melinda asked.

"No! I mean not that he's unattractive, but he's not my type, he's too..." Olivia said.

"Big, strong, tall, dark, and handsome?" Melinda smirked.

Olivia gave her a look.

"What? I think he's Hot! But since you aren't interested in him, I'll take him! Do you know if he's single?" Melinda asked.

"I have no idea, here he comes." Olivia said as Mick walks back toward them.

Olivia and Melinda stop talking.

"My friends in Des Moines found the case files, they're being faxed over as we speak." Mick said.

"Well I guess we better get back then." Olivia said.

"OK then. It was a pleasure meeting you Melinda." Mick said.

"It was nice to meet you too!" Melinda said.

_**Meanwhile in Iowa...**_

Detective James Root and Officer Sid Wilson arrived at the crime scene where M.E. Joey Jordison and his assistant Joseph Poole, whom is better known as Wednesday, are examining the corpse that had been found inside a car trunk, which had been abandoned in a ditch for two weeks.

"What do we got?" Jim asked.

"The victim was a young male in his twenties. He appears to have been severely beaten, and the broken fingernails indicates that he was alive when placed in the trunk. I believe the cause of death was bleeding out, but I'll tell you more as soon as I get him on the table." Joey explained.

"Looks like he's been here for quite a while." Jim stated.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" exclaimed Sid before he ran off to the side to puke.

"Newbie?" Joey asked James as he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, and it looks like he still has a long ways to go." Jim said.

"Looks like he had chili fries for lunch!" Wednesday says as he observes Sid's vomit.

Jim looks at Wednesday, then turns to Joey and says, "And there goes my appetite."

_**Back in New York City at the 16**__**th**__** Precinct...**_

While Mick and Olivia were at Dr. Warner's office, Elliot had returned since his suspension was over.

"Oh great! He's back!" Fin stated as he notices Elliot's arrival.

"Think of it this way, with him getting moved to desk duty, we might get more cases now." Munch optimistically said.

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Fin said as he eyes Elliot walking over to where his desk used to be, which was in front of Olivia's desk.

Elliot paused as he looked over what was now Mick's desk. His family photos had been replaced with pictures of Mick's friends in Iowa, from their early days as a local band to the days as patrol officers and detectives. There were also books about serial killers and a stack of Kerrang and Revolver magazines with heavy metal bands such as Slayer on the cover.

"Welcome back Elliot!" Munch greeted as he approached him.

"What happened to my desk?" Elliot angrily asked.

"It's over there now, right in front of Cragen's Office." Munch answered as he pointed it out.

"Why did you guys move it? And Who's desk is this?" Elliot angrily asked.

"It belongs to Olivia's new partner." Munch answers.

"New partner!" Elliot seethed, then asked, "Who is he?"

"Right over there!" Fin said as he happily pointed at Mick, who just entered the squad room with Olivia.

Fin smirked as he saw Elliot's eyes grow wide at the sight of Mick, who is the same size as the big guy that went on a rampage in the squad room a while back; Elliot had tried to take him down by hitting the back of his head with a fire extinguisher, only to be scooped up and tossed out the window and land on the lower level roof of the building.

Elliot too thought back to that moment, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from confronting Mick.

"Oh hi Elliot!" Olivia greeted almost casually, and then said, "Mick, this is my former partner Elliot, Elliot, this is Mick Thomson."

"Hi nice to m..." Mick said until Elliot cut him off.

"Former partner?" Elliot said unhappily, then added, "So that's how it is huh! You've replaced me?"

"I'm sorry Elliot, I meant as in working partners!" Olivia said as she tries to calm Elliot down.

"Fine! You may be replacing me, but don't think you're ever gonna have a chance with Olivia!" Elliot exclaimed as he points his finger at Mick's face.

Mick just rolls his eyes and after taking a deep breath, responds up close to Elliot's face, "I don't know about you, but I'm don't date co-workers! OK? And second, I didn't come here with the intent to replace anyone! So you better get out of my face...unless you want me to get into yours!"

"Ahem! Are we gonna have a problem here?" Captain Cragen asked as he confronts them both.

"No Captain, not unless he has a problem with me." Mick answered.

"Elliot? Am I going to have to transfer you?" Cragen asked.

"No, I just have to get used to this new arrangement!" Elliot answered.

"You better if you want to keep working here!" Cragen said to Elliot, then he orders the others in the squad room, "Everyone get back to work!"

Elliot went over to his new desk feeling like a dog licking his wounds. He couldn't believe that Olivia called him her former partner, he didn't like that he was replaced so easily. He was not gonna let Mick do that to him. Judging by his size, he figured that a physical fight is out, however Elliot decided the only thing he could do is make Mick feel unwelcome in his territory.


End file.
